By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 36
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the detention and transportation of a person with a
mental illness.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 573.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (e) and (f) and adding Subsection
(e-1) to read as follows:
(e) A jail or similar detention facility may not be deemed
suitable for detention of a person taken into custody under this
section except in an extreme emergency that exists because of
hazardous weather or the occurrence of a disaster that threatens
the safety of the proposed patient or person transporting the
proposed patient. In the event of an extreme emergency, a person
may be detained in a jail or similar detention facility under this
subsection during the extreme emergency and for not longer than 12
hours after the extreme emergency ends. The sheriff or other
officeholder responsible for the facility shall only be required to
document and report the following to the Commission on Jail
Standards for each person detained in a jail or similar detention
facility for any month in which a person is detained under this
subsection:
(1) the time the person's detention begins;
(2) the duration of the detention;
(3) the reason for the detention; and
(4) the time a representative of the local mental
health authority is notified and arrives at the facility.
(e-1) For any month in which a report is required under
Subsection (e), the report must be submitted no later than the 15th
day of the following month.
(f) The sheriff or officeholder responsible for [A person
detained in] a jail or a similar detention [nonmedical] facility
shall ensure that a person detained in the jail or similar detention
facility is [be] kept separate from any person who is charged with
or convicted of a crime.
SECTION 2. Section 574.023, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) A person taken into custody under this section may be
detained only in the manner provided by Section 574.027.
SECTION 3. Section 574.027, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsections
(c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:
(c) A person under a protective custody order may not be
detained in a jail or nonmedical facility used to detain persons who
are charged with or convicted of a crime except because of and
during an extreme emergency that exists because of hazardous
weather or the occurrence of a disaster that threatens the safety of
the proposed patient or the person transporting the proposed
patient. In the event of an extreme emergency, a person may be
detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under this subsection
during the extreme emergency and for not longer than 12 hours after
the extreme emergency ends. The sheriff or other officeholder
responsible for the facility shall only be required to document and
report the following to the Commission on Jail Standards for each
person detained in the jail or nonmedical facility for any month in
which a person is detained under this subsection:
(1) the time the person's detention begins;
(2) the duration of the detention;
(3) the reason for the detention; and
(4) the time a representative of the local mental
health authority is notified and arrives at the facility [and in no
case for longer than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, legal
holidays, and the period prescribed by Section 574.025(b) for an
extreme emergency. The person must be isolated from any person who
is charged with or convicted of a crime].
(c-1) The sheriff or officeholder responsible for a jail or
a nonmedical facility described by Subsection (c) shall ensure that
a person detained in the jail or facility under Subsection (c) is
kept separate from any person who is charged with or convicted of a
crime.
(c-2) For any month in which a report is required under
Subsection (c), the report must be submitted not later than the 15th
day of the following month.
(d) The county health authority shall ensure that proper
care and medical attention are made available to a person who is
detained in a jail or nonmedical facility under Subsection (c).
SECTION 4. Section 574.045, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (l) to read as follows:
(l) A patient restrained under Subsection (g) may be
restrained only during the apprehension, detention, or
transportation of the patient. The method of restraint must permit
the patient to sit in an upright position without undue difficulty.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.